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<\/p>\nA major earthquake has suddenly hit the U.S. scientific research community!<\/p>\n
Just today, Nature exclusively broke a bombshell news \u2014<\/p>\n
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has secretly “blacklisted” four top – tier universities and completely blocked their new research funding.<\/p>\n
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Three Ivy League universities: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Duke are all on the list.<\/p>\n
What’s most shocking is that there was no public notice, no formal explanation, and even these four universities were completely unaware!<\/p>\n
Funding for Four Top – Tier Universities Frozen<\/p>\n
As is well – known, the NSF, with an annual budget of $8.8 billion, is the absolute “financial backer” of basic research in the United States.<\/p>\n
A large portion of the “resources” for scientists conducting research in mathematics, physics, engineering, and biology at universities across the United States are allocated by it.<\/p>\n
However, now, this “major financial backer” that holds the key to the nation’s scientific research has abruptly cut off the funding pipelines of four top – notch universities.<\/p>\n
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The leaked internal documents have revealed a glimpse of this incident \u2014<\/p>\n
As early as April 9, the NSF’s Office of Award Management (OAM) quietly put a cold label on these four top universities in the system’s background:<\/p>\n
Future Awards to \u00a0Organization \u00a0on Hold.<\/p>\n
What does this mean?<\/p>\n
An insider within the NSF said bluntly that a “blockade order” of this level is extremely rare!<\/p>\n
Normally, it is only used when a university is on the verge of closing down or has exposed extremely serious audit scandals.<\/p>\n
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In other words, the NSF has directly treated Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Duke as “troubled schools”.<\/p>\n
But what’s most chilling is, what exactly did these four top – tier universities do wrong?<\/p>\n
The NSF has neither responded nor explained, and it remains a complete mystery to this day.<\/p>\n
33 Projects Stalled for 91 Days<\/p>\n
The impact of this incident is extremely fatal for university research projects.<\/p>\n
Under normal circumstances, the OAM takes an average of only 10 days to approve a research project.<\/p>\n
However, currently, 33 research proposals from these four universities and their collaborators have been stalled for a full 91 days.<\/p>\n
Many of them were quietly held up even before the “suspension” label was officially applied on April 9.<\/p>\n
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Moreover, before these proposals reached the OAM, they had already been approved by independent scientist reviewers, endorsed by NSF project officers, and approved by institutional leadership.<\/p>\n
In other words, these projects are completely qualified at the academic level, and the stalling is purely an “artificial blockage” at the administrative level.<\/p>\n
Looking at another set of data is even more shocking:<\/p>\n
In 2024, these four universities received a total of 218 new project grants from the NSF.<\/p>\n
As of the current fiscal year 2026, the four universities combined have only received 13. After the freeze order on April 9, Duke and Harvard have received 0 new projects.<\/p>\n
These numbers represent the reality that the top scientific research forces in the United States are facing.<\/p>\n
85% in Mathematics, Physics, and Engineering; Quantum Computing Also Affected<\/p>\n
Ironically, 85% of the 33 stalled projects are concentrated in the fields of mathematics, physics, and engineering.<\/p>\n
Among the stalled projects are a five – year grant for promising young scientists and a support project for Yale University’s Quantum Research Center.<\/p>\n
What’s even more significant is that even “continuous funding” types of grants have not been spared.<\/p>\n
The VERENA project led by Yale University is an interdisciplinary research project mainly focused on predicting the next global pandemic threat.<\/p>\n
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An annual follow – up funding of over $2 million was approved by the project officer on January 20, but it is still stuck in the OAM’s approval process.<\/p>\n
It’s been more than five months.<\/p>\n
Colin Carlson, a disease ecologist at Yale University and the project leader, said, “The 40 – person team has suffered a significant loss. If the money doesn’t arrive, he will have to lay off the remaining members at Yale in the next few months.”<\/p>\n
A project aimed at predicting the next global pandemic for humanity has been strangled by administrative processes.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Scientific Research Machine is Idling<\/p>\n
Actually, the experiences of the three Ivy League universities and Berkeley are just the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n
The funding allocation speed of the entire NSF in the fiscal year 2026 has dropped precipitously.<\/p>\n
According to data from the research funding tracking organization Grant Witness, the NSF has only approved 613 new projects so far this fiscal year \u2014<\/p>\n
That’s only about 20% of the level during the same period from 2021 – 2024, and the amount of funds disbursed is only about one – third of previous years.<\/p>\n
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The NIH (National Institutes of Health) is in the same dire situation as well: about 10,000 grants have been disbursed this year, compared to 18,000 during the same period in previous years.<\/p>\n
This is not because there is no money; Congress has allocated the funds, and the money is there.<\/p>\n
Rather, there is a problem with the operation of the entire federal research funding machine: the NSF does not have a formal director, and the DOGE terminated 1,752 projects (worth $1.4 billion) in 2025.<\/p>\n
Coupled with the White House’s delay in releasing the institutional budget, multiple factors have combined, and the entire system is on the verge of paralysis.<\/p>\n
What’s even more terrifying is the White House’s plan for the NSF’s future: the budget proposal for the fiscal year 2027 suggests cutting the NSF’s annual budget from $8.8 billion to $4 billion, a direct halving.<\/p>\n
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If this budget proposal is passed, the NSF’s funding success rate will plummet from 26% in 202;4 to 7%.<\/p>\n
This means that out of every 14 excellent research proposals that have undergone strict peer review, only 1 will receive funding.<\/p>\n
On the Eve of the Battle for ASI, Pulling the “Plug” Yourself<\/p>\n
Taking a step back and looking at this incident, we can see that it reflects a problem far more serious than “four universities not getting funding”.<\/p>\n
We are standing at the most critical technological turning point in human history.<\/p>\n
OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind are in a race to reach the ultimate goal of ASI.<\/p>\n
However, ASI will not appear out of thin air.<\/p>\n
It requires breakthroughs in mathematics, new paradigms in physics, and extreme innovation in engineering, precisely the fields that the NSF is currently blocking.<\/p>\n
Quantum computing, nanotechnology, and interdisciplinary biological research are not just paper – based games in the ivory tower; they are the infrastructure for the next generation of intelligence.<\/p>\n
The return cycle for basic scientific research starts at ten years.<\/p>\n
Every dollar of funding frozen today won’t come due now. It will arrive on time in 2035 when AI most needs original theoretical breakthroughs.<\/p>\n
By then, the players at the ASI table may suddenly find that the cards in the United States’ hand stopped being printed ten years ago.<\/p>\n
Reference: https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-026-01667-6<\/p>\n